Sunday, November 30, 2008

It's early 2005. A warm day in January found a bunch of us sitting at a round table, nervously fingering our I.D cards as we fielded several angry looks from across the room that all asked the same question: "what are you kids doing in here?"

The pungent smell of human sweat--dried by several air conditioners on at full blast-- mixed with the burnt aroma of mass-produced milky coffee, the fuel of all administrative offices in South India. A few of us wanted to throw up. At least one desperately needed a cigarette. But no one in that room would leave their place for the world. We had all somehow edged our way into an open meeting with the district collector of Nagapattinam, and only another tsunami could have gotten us out of there.

In hindsight, there was no other way for that meeting to have ended. Apart from us kids, everybody at that table represented some NGO or organization that either wanted to provide fishermen with funds to repair their boats and nets, develop "tsunami-resistant" housing (no, I kid you not), provide for the mental health of the survivors of the Big Wave or deal with the sudden orphan/adoption crisis that was steadily growing in certain villages along the coastline at that time.

Competing interests meant that everyone was determined to have a say and rally support, while our little gang waited, keen and eager for the moment when we could chip in with a brief report of what we had seen-- the villages we had visited that hadn't even seen one government aid truck, that had no water, that had mini riots every time some NGO came by and dropped off sackfuls of rice.

At that meeting, representatives of the state administration told everyone that no rehabilitation would start till the government rewrote the zoning laws and fishing laws. We left the room two hours later. We never attempted to contact a government representative on the same issue again.

Cue January 2006: with a different group of students this time, a week or so before our one week visit to the Big Easy, I spent the day listening to Nagin and his aides discuss how plans for rehabilitating the 9th ward were being put on hold while "administrative and structural decisions" were made. Understandably, there were many citizens who were a bit, shall we say, a tad ticked off by their suggestions.

Cue the present day.

Mum always said, somethings never change.

Google "group dynamics" and one of the first links that show takes you to a Wiki article on a guy named Bruce Tuckman and his four stage model on group dynamics called-- no surprise-- Tuckman's Stages for a group:

Tuckman's model states that the ideal group decision-making process should occur in four stages:

* Forming (pretending to get on or get along with others); * Storming (letting down the politeness barrier and trying to get down to the issues even if tempers flare up ); * Norming (getting used to each other and developing trust and productivity); * Performing (working in a group to a common goal on a highly efficient and cooperative basis.

There have been numerous calls for collective action and individual responsibility since the attacks on the 26th of this month in Mumbai. There has been indignation at the role the media played in complicating the rescue operation carried out by the Army and NSG. There has been anger at local government representatives. There is a civil disobedience movement proposed, based on refusing to pay taxes. There have been nebulous calls to war against Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Penguins, Globalization, All Pink Things and other random entities by equally random citizens.

More importantly, there have been questions asked, SMSed, murmured, blogged, status-msged, forwarded and twittered that are growing into something approaching critical mass in terms of citizen participation in the administration of their own country.

Finally.

Of course, it could all just die down. It has before, mainly because us Indians have been so caught up in celebrating our diversity for the past 50 odd years, that getting to the Norming stage of Tuckman's list is near impossible. Our genial need for disagreement, and our devotion to exercises involving the proverbial Mulberry Bush ensure that the only certainty regarding group meetings/collaborations is the amount of kaapi that will be inhaled.

But what about the immediate need to come together? To stand together and stand by the claim that we will not stand for any more... any more...what, exactly?

Ask the average Indian about the Mumbai attacks, and the only widely held view will be how awful the attacks were. Why they were awful, what were the contributing factors to the event-- fugghedaboudit. Best to stick with the unity in diversity tag.

...Yesterday, It felt as if almost the whole of Mumbai was the Gateway of India. It was a heartening show of solidarity and togetherness, and it seemed like finally, Bombay has had enough, and is not going to tolerate the political sham that runs our beloved city.But as I passed the entire area, still deciding whether to fight the crowds and go in, or to just go home, I saw the number of people who had actually come to voice discontent or/and show solidarity, were far outnumbered by the people who came to apparently have a good time. It seemed to be a case of : If everyone's going, I'm going to go. I was appalled to see people fighting with each other to be in camera frames, and though the patriotic fervor was invigorating to say the least, it's a pity that people didn't understand the basic concept of HOW to display solidarity. I guess towards the end, it turned into a media circus, where all the major media companies got enough videos and pictures to fill their editions and bulletins for the next 20 days... I sincerely believed that the rally on the 3rd could have been the symbol of change we were hoping for, and though some of you might disagree with my views on this, I felt it wasn't. So many people together, united should have been the ideal platform for the message of progress and change to be spread. Yet all i saw was chaos, yelling, pushing and over pumped patriotism that will die out in a few hours.

Kaizad went on to say that he hopes the rally planned for the 21st will be a platform for promoting civic participation and the fierce urgent need for an overhaul of how government is run. I wish him and the group he administers only the best.

I share his, and others' concern over how this will all take place.

A few points for consideration, thus:

1. The media has always been a circus, a tricked out, parti-coloured dung beetle that survives based on the number of people who tune in. Signing petitions might get specific reporters or anchors off the air, but it won't change an ethos.One might attempt switching off the t.v. though, or switching to good old DD. Pull a 'Cable Guy' on 'em. Replay that fantastic ending, and get your news from print media instead, via tree pulp or 54kbps.

2. The government in a democracy is of the people, by the people and for the people. Which means, you get what you pay for. There are suggestions to revamp the election system, to hold out for better candidates, to support independent candidates, to spread awareness about the need for responsible leaders. All good. All things that need to be started at the seed level: while the IAS goes to work revamping policy, school systems, colleges and universities need to teach and discuss these basics of a civil society. There needs to be more to an every day Indian's perception of government than just corruption, politics and the power of money & force. That only comes, ONLY comes, through traditional modes of education.

3. Civil Disobedience is marvelous. But like any Movement, Civil Disobedience only works when you have a figure-head up in front, being the peoples' god, saint, leader, truth-giver. Someone they can sacrifice for. Our society in India hasn't evolved to the point where a large number can act out of free will and revolt or otherwise on their own. Doesn't happen. Group think rules. And since we don't have another Gandhi, Malcolm, Bose, King or Obama, I can only hope that people can respond in large numbers responsibly, to this and other calls for public outcry. The tax bit is going to be the trip-up, mostly because majority of us don't understand how the tax system works. Those who do understand it well, are probably already benefiting from it to such an extent that going against it is in their disfavor.

4. The underestimated importance of outreach, organization and education. It's easy to throw your hands up in the air and talk about the impossibilities of developing more stringent security measures at the citizen level. And yet, all it comes down to is better utilizing that innate ability us Indians have to help each other out.

We've all seen it: kitchens set up in the wake of natural disasters, strangers visiting victims in hospitals, people pulling each other into buses to keep them from being late to school or work, stories of heroism during the recent attacks-- a thousand stories of good-will, all quietly done despite and in spite of the media, politicians and administrators. Why not make use of that same will to help?

Organize streets, apartment complexes, neighborhoods so that evacuation points are set up, safety procedures are posted on walls so people know what to do if such an event arises again. Teach folk how to take care of their own. Simple steps, which don't need a defense budget. Working together doesn't need a budget. It does mean patience, organization, and avoiding the assumption that others are either too young, too entrenched in certain ideals or too stupid to work with. Intellectual Exclusivity sucks bigger balls than the usual social bigotry we consistently condemn, and yet is far less chastised.

5. Calls for a fight against terrorism is not the same as a call for communal rioting. Terrorism is a delicate dog fight fought in circles that us mortal bloggers, community folk and random soap box orators will never enter, let alone move in. What we can do as citizens is to alter perceptions of terrorism: by not elevating it into a cause, by not assuming everyone from a country or religion supports or is associated with terrorism, by teaching and learning, impartially, about how terrorism is affecting the world at large, and India specifically.

6. The most important thing the last week has taught us is the vast amount of un-knowing, on the part of the public, the media, the local government. We are no longer safe in living off the fat of our land. The time of India being stereotyped as the home of nerdy computer engineers, snake charmers,cow patty makers and 7/11 grocery store owners is over. Like it or not, the country is now associated with wealth, international partnerships, nuclear power and economic development. We even have baseball players.

Gird your loins, maami. This land will never be the same again, and if we are all to survive democratically, should never be the same, as well.

5
comments:

There is so much here that one has to think about. I think what the attacks brought to the fore is the fact that we are no longer a land that does not speak English and whatnot, apparently we are big enough to be target to a bunch of whatnots who want to do some serious damage.

I do believe that part of the outrage is fuelled by the media, and them news channels' talk is what is on the slogans. I mean, when have we not bitched about the government? What worries me is the OD of info that is going around, what with Google Earth and satellite images et al the world is no longer a pvt place and it will be hard as hell to hide!

Will we participate and make change happen? We will, the day we STOP using our political power to gain the best realty deals a hell of a lot of retail swag and whatnot. The day that stops and governance becomes important we will actually be taking steps forward.

Agree, it doesn't come easy, but it might, the day ancient almost fossils stop ruling the place. I agree that age in this country means wisdom and all that, but I don't think age is what we need right now!